Cyndi Lauper didn't wait long Wednesday night during her tour-opening show at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay to acknowledge what was on the minds of many who attended.

"I just want to say one thing: I won!" Lauper exulted, after opening her performance with the solid, one-two punch of "Money Changes Everything" and "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (during which she sang to the audience, from the audience.)

While in the middle of the audience, Cyndi Lauper sings "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" as her She's So Unusual Tour makes a stop at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay in San Diego on Wednesday, June 12, 2013.
— Hayne Palmour IV

The victory she was citing was her Sunday triumph at the Tony Awards, where she became the first woman to ever win top honors for Original Score. Her victory was for the hit musical "Kinky Boots," this year's Tony champion with six trophies.

In response to chants of "Tony! Tony! Tony!" from some members of the loudly enthusiastic Humphreys audience, a beaming Lauper said: "It feels good to finally win."

The 59-year-old singer-songwriter then recounted receiving her 1984 Album of the Year Grammy Award nomination for her solo debut album, "She's So Unusual," which earned her a Best New Artist victory.

"With the Grammy," (going up against the ultimately victorious) "Tina Turner, I thought it would be terrible to win. This time (with the Tonys), I was like: 'Hell, yeah! Bring it on!' "

With that she launched into a winning version of Prince's "When You Were Mine." It was the third song in a row, following "Money" and "Girls," from "She's So Unusual," whose 30th anniversary (it came out in late 1983) her new tour is designed to celebrate.

Her next song, the luminous ballad "Time After Time," found her struggling to sing in the correct key -- a problem that may have been exacerbated by problems with her in-ear audio monitors, which caused her more problems later during her Wednesday concert.

Lauper recovered with her next selection, the slinky, groove-happy "She Bop." When it concluded, she recalled how her music and image in the first half of the 1980s caused alarm among some of her fellow musicians at the time.

"I do know that some of the other rockers were absolutely afraid of me," she said. "On Broadway, they didn't care what color my hair was... if you go to New York, you gotta see 'Kinky Boots'."

San Diegans won't have to go that far.

On Wednesday afternoon, the producers of "Kinky Boots" announced that the musical would begin its first national tour next year in Las Vegas.

Lauper mentioned stopping in Sin City en route to San Diego. She also recounted how, as a teenager, she wanted to be a hippie; how the women's liberation movement inspired her to sing topless at a recording session for "She's So Unusual"; meeting Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones at a reality TV show taping; one of hear early tours opening for The Kinks; and any other number of topics.

In between the conclusion of "She Bop" and the start of "All Through the Night," she spoke to the audience for more than 10 minutes straight. While sometimes insightful and amusing, her extended comments too often came at the expense of the show's momentum and musical pacing. This held especially true at a concert ostensibly designed to feature each song, in order, from "She's So Unusual," which sold 16 million copies worldwide and yielded five hit singles in the U.S.